It was always going to be an extraordinary morning at the Oval.
Whether you arrived by car, train or on foot, the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II loomed large on billboards and posters that lined the roads and the tube stations, as the nation mourned the loss of a monarch on the same morning it welcomed a new one.
The bars were shut at the Oval, cans of water lined up to quench any pre-play thirst, and there was no fancy dress allowed, replaced by more sombre attire.
The advertising hoardings that circled the field, the signage and the big screens were also clothed in black as a backdrop to two images of Queen Elizabeth from two different stages of life as the crowd filed in to take their seats early.
The formalities were simple and dignified. Just after King Charles III was officially proclaimed monarch north of the Thames, south of the river the players filed on to the field and silence enveloped the ground.
The bell was struck and singer Laura Wright’s voice rang out clear and stunningly beautiful, with no accompanying music, first with the South African anthem and then, for the first time at a sporting event since 1952, a poignant rendition of God Save the King.
The applause was warm after the conclusion of each anthem, but it was the second that caused it to swirl around the stand for longer than the anthem itself had lasted.
After all the debate over whether or not sport should be played on this weekend, this felt just right.
And, once play began, everything was right for England.
The coin may have been tossed two days earlier, but Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first was fortuitous under Saturday morning’s dark grey skies.
The conditions seemed tailor-made for Ollie Robinson, as the ball wobbled and nibbled and nipped just enough to make batting perilous for South Africa’s top order, which has been brittle throughout the series and quickly crumbled here under pressure.
Robinson kicked off the carnage with the wicket of Dean Elgar in the second over, the South African captain’s lean series continuing when he played around a delivery that shaped in and took out the off stump.
The next over brought the second for England and one for the evergreen Jimmy Anderson as Sarel Erwee chased a ball that left him and edged to Ben Foakes before Robinson was at it again, probing at the off stump and smashing straight into it when Keegan Peterson unwisely shouldered arms.
The morning’s hushed murmuring gave way to ever more boisterous celebrations as Robinson and Stuart Broad made their merry way through the rest of the Protea’s batters.
The fall of wickets made grim reading for South African eyes: 5 for 32, 6 for 36, then 7 for 72 as Robinson and Broad found their lengths and let the ball’s movement do the rest. Robinson’s improved fitness has added extra pace to his accuracy and bounce and, as in Manchester, England reaped rapid rewards.
Stokes gave two overs to Jack Leach’s spin but didn’t bowl himself; there was no need, with only Marco Jansen offering a smidgen of resistance with his 30 runs as South Africa folded.
Broad wrapped up the tail and finished with 4-41 but Robinson had the distinction of raising the ball to the appreciative fans, his five-wicket haul coming at the expense of just 49 runs.
But this being new England, where ‘brave’ batting comes with the caveat of grave risk, the chance of a big first innings lead grew more distant with each falling wicket.
Jansen’s left-arm swing, pace and bounce — missing at Old Trafford when he was omitted from the side — was back in force and left questions hanging about what might have been in Manchester.
Alex Lees was the victim of height as a full ball tickled the top of his stumps and Zac Crawley was undone by the inswinging ball that thudded into his front pad.
Ollie Pope fared better in typically brash fashion, scoring the only half-century of the day at a venue where runs have typically flowed easily for him.
But, while Pope seemed to have more time to play each crisp stroke, his batting partners helped their own demise through unbridled aggression.
Root flashed hard and edged Jansen to Peterson at third slip, Harry Brook flicked the same bowler to backward square leg in his maiden Test innings, while Ben Stokes — who had seemed particularly fidgety in the field — was somewhat manic in his brief stint at the crease and on the ninth ball he faced he went for the booming drive only to edge the ball to Erwee at first slip.
Rabada had struggled to find a troubling length but improved as the afternoon wore on and was rewarded with the prized wicked of Pope, who was tempted outside his off stump and caught behind on 67.
By the time Broad swiped across the line and Kyle Verreyne claimed his second catch of the day, just managing to cling to the edge that dropped between his knees, England were 7 for 151 and added just three runs to the total before bad light stopped play.
With just three wickets in hand and a modest lead of 36, England might be accused of squandering an opportunity.
But should we expect anything different from the side led by Ben Stokes and coached by Brendon McCullum? This is how they have played all summer; the first two Tests finished inside three days and this time they have only three days to play.
And with 17 wickets falling on the first of them, England may have enough of an advantage to win the first Test of the second Carolean era.
